Frugal Mindset: Less
is More
Sometimes surrounding ourselves by many material things
makes us feel wealthier even when our pocketbooks are nearly empty. It is a kind of compensation that makes us
feel better about our situation, but it does more harm than good. The clutter created from things you don’t really need keeps
you from making good use of what you have, and takes the focus away from a frugal lifestyle.
The truth is, when you are developing your frugal mindset,
the best policy to follow is “less is more”.
How many times have you gone through your closet and found
brand new clothes you’ve never worn and won’t wear now because the style no
longer appeals to you? It’s great to hit the clothing clearance sales and buy
for next season, but you need to have some idea of the items you need to
complete your wardrobe. No matter what the price, if you overbuy, you are
wasting money that could be invested in another way.
There are some easy guidelines to follow when it comes to organizing
any area of your home with frugality in mind.
Purge
Organize
Take Inventory
Create a List
- First, you’ll want to purge items you do not use or
need. Make sure these items ultimately
leave the premises so they don’t re-assimilate into your household. Bring
items such as clothing to a resale shop, put items aside for a garage sale or donate
them to a local charity. Make sure to get a receipt for your taxes for large
donations.
- Once you’ve purged, organize what is left by grouping like items
together and be certain everything has a place. As you are organizing, you may find even more items to purge as you refine your space.
- Now that you have an organized space it will
be quite simple to take inventory of what you have.
- The last step is to keep a master list of
items needed. That way you have a handle
on what you have in your home so that you’re not purchasing items simply
because you don’t know what you already have.
When you make a list, keep a list of things you need soon and things you
would like to purchase should you find a good deal in the future. This method adapts
well to most any area of your home: the pantry, the closets, the toy area, the book
collection, or your stockpile of household products.
These guidelines were especially helpful to me when I
decided to tackle my pantry. I was buying a lot of bulk dry goods and the
packaging made it hard for me to keep up with the amount I had on hand. I created a Mason jar system to organize my
bulk dry goods and it is really efficient. I keep like items together, I can
see what I have on hand at a glance and it’s super easy to make a menu
plan. As I start running low on an item, I add it to my shopping
list. Now this area of my pantry is extremely easy to maintain.
I hope this will help you to be more organized in your
frugal life. Being organized is an integral part of living a frugal lifestyle
because we must find ways to efficiently use what we have so that we can put
our money to better use in other areas. Remember, even if you only have time to
do one area of your home right now, you will reap the benefits and that will motivate
you to take on more frugal organization projects in the future.
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